From 3 to 5 July, the 2026 IFSC Climbing World Cup Speed Series took place in Kraków, Poland. Deng Lijuan, a master's student who enrolled at Donghua University's (DHU) Glorious Sun School of Business and Management in 2025, teamed up with national teammate Zhou Yafei to win the women's speed relay in 12.89 seconds, setting a new world record in the event.
(Deng Lijuan and Zhou Yafei claimed victory in the final of the women's speed relay; Deng Lijuan is on the right)
In the women's speed relay, China Team 1, comprising Zhou Yafei, Deng Lijuan and Zhang Shaoqin, finished second in the preliminaries with a time of 13.23 seconds and advanced to the final. In the final round, Deng and her teammates kept pushing beyond their limits: in the semifinal, they broke the previous world record with a time of 13.02 seconds and overcame their opponents to reach the deciding race. In the final, Deng ran the anchor leg with precise footholds and a fluid sequence of moves, and in close coordination with Zhou Yafei topped the wall in 12.89 seconds, breaking the world record once again to secure the gold medal.
(The top three teams in the women's speed relay, with Deng Lijuan third from the left)
From winning a municipal long-jump title in middle school to becoming one of China's leading speed climbers, Deng Lijuan has claimed an Olympic silver medal in Paris, a gold medal at the Chengdu World Games, a gold medal at the 15th National Games of China, and multiple world championship titles in women's speed climbing. She has also served as a youth lecturer in nearly ten primary and secondary schools, teaching climbing skills to more than 600 students and delivering more than 20 themed lectures.
